Nuclear Escape

Nuclear Escape allows two, four, six, or eight players to experience the strategies and tensions of the nuclear weapons dilemma. Play begins in 1985 (and continues decades into the future). The United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) have been locked in a cold-war nuclear arms race for over 40 years. Each player has a role as a high-level government official for one of the two superpowers.

Players roll dice to move the Planet game piece around the gameboard to spaces that force players to take actions such as arms escalation (ESCALATE spaces) or development of a space-based defense system (SPACE WARS spaces). Disarmament negotiations are a key part of the game and will occur whenever the Planet game piece lands on a START space (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks). Reduction negotiations are ratified or rejected by game players using Voting Cards.

At the start of the game, the US and the USSR each possess 10,300 nuclear warheads. The game ends in one of four ways: Nuclear Escape: Each superpower has between 800 and 1000 warheads. Nuclear Dominance: One superpower has at least 800 warheads and a 2 to 1 or greater warhead advantage over the other. Nuclear Tension Continued: The game is a draw. Nuclear War: All players lose.

While disarmament negotiations are a key part of the game, other aspects of the real-world nuclear weapon’s dilemma in the game include: Trust, but verify: warheads involved in nuclear arms reduction agreements that are not verified are hidden in Warhead Center envelopes. Leaders from each team will decide whether to stockpile or destroy warheads from unverified START agreements. Proliferation: other nations join the Nuclear Club which increases the likelihood of nuclear war. Escalation/de-escalation: a superpower may unilaterally escalate or de-escalate its nuclear weapons arsenal. Strategic Defense Initiative (Proposed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982): Either superpower may research, test, and then deploy a space-based defense system. In the game, this defense system is called “Space Wars”.

Nuclear Escape is not a typical game. In some ways, it’s a maze inside a game in that you will need to find a path to your goal while nuclear war threatens to make all players losers. Achieving Nuclear Escape will require cooperation and an accurate assessment of who you can trust. Achieving Nuclear Dominance will likely require deception.